Apple released its list of top iPhone apps for the year and, once again, the list was dominated by titles created by Facebook, Google and Snap. Their apps combined for all of the top seven spots among free iPhone apps followed by Netflix, Spotify and Uber.
Why it matters: These companies dominate the share of ad spending so it's vital to their future to have top-ranked mobile apps as well. On the other hand, it's getting harder and harder for others to find their way to the top of the charts.
Apple also released its top 20 for other categories, including paid apps, free and paid games as well as leaders in podcasts, music, movies, TV shows and books:
Top Free iPhone Apps:
- Bitmoji
- Snapchat
- YouTube: Watch Listen Stream
- Messenger
- Google Maps - GPS Navigation
- Netflix
- Spotify Music
- Uber
- Gmail - Email by Google
- Pandora Music
- Amazon – Shopping made easy
- WhatsApp Messenger
- Wish - Shopping Made Fun
- SoundCloud - Music & Audio
- Google Chrome
- Waze Navigation & Live Traffic
- Lyft
Top Paid iPhone Apps:
(Our thought bubble: This shows the power of subscriptions, validating the bet made by Lightricks, the maker of photo editing apps Facetune, and Enlight)
- Facetune
- Tabs & Chords - learn and play
- HotSchedules
- Enlight
- 7 Minute Workout Challenge
- Videoshop - Video Editor
- Dark Sky Weather
- Sky Guide AR
- Full Fitness : Exercise Workout Trainer
- Word Swag - Cool fonts & typography generator
- iScanner - PDF Document Scanner App
- Scanner Pro by Readdle
- Afterlight
- The Wonder Weeks
- NOAA Radar Pro – Weather Alerts & Forecast
- Toca Hair Salon 3
- LightX
- Scanner for Me + OCR
- 1 Second Everyday: Video Diary
- Fontmania - Add Artworks & Text to Your Photos!
Top Free iPhone Games:
(Our thought bubble: This list tells you a lot about what people download, but not so much about which games brought in the money. Even though Super Mario Run tops the list, it was a one-time purchase to own the game. That limited its revenue potential as compared to games that rely on repeated in-app purchases.)
- Super Mario Run
- 8 Ball Pool™
- Snake VS Block
- Ballz
- Word Cookies!
- Subway Surfers
- Episode!
- Rolling Sky
- Block! Hexa Puzzle
- Paper.io
- Solitaire·
- Bowmasters - Multiplayer Game
- Color Switch
- Piano Tiles 2™(Don't Tap The White Tile 2)
- Choices: Stories You Play
- Roll the Ball® - slide puzzle
- Clash Royale
- ROBLOX
- Word Connect ¤
- Candy Crush Saga
Top Paid iPhone Games:
- Heads Up!
- Minecraft
- Bloons TD 5
- Plague Inc.
- MONOPOLY Game
- Geometry Dash
- Monument Valley 2
- The Game of Life
- The Escapists
- Assassin's Creed Identity
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- True Skate
- RollerCoaster Tycoon® Classic
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location
- Papa's Freezeria To Go!
- Five Nights at Freddy's
- Hitman Sniper
- Terraria
- Reigns
- Tiny Wings
Top Free iPad Apps:
(Our thought bubble: Video apps dominated the list, not surprisingly.)
- YouTube: Watch Listen Stream
- Netflix
- Messenger
- Google Chrome
- Amazon Prime Video
- Gmail - Email by Google
- YouTube Kids
- Amazon – Shopping made easy
- Spotify Music
- Pandora Music
- The Calculator
- The Weather Channel App for iPad – best local forecast radar map and storm tracking
- Google Docs
- Hulu: Watch TV Shows & Movies
- Amazon Kindle
- Google Maps - GPS Navigation
- Google Drive
- Microsoft Word
Top Paid iPad Apps:
(Our thought bubble: Here it was kids games that dominated, telling you something about iPad demographics, with children's app developer Toca Boca making up nearly half the list.)
- Procreate
- Notability
- Toca Life: Hospital
- Toca Hair Salon 3
- GoodNotes 4
- Toca Life: Stable
- Duet Display
- Toca Lab: Elements
- Toca Kitchen 2
- XtraMath
- Toca Life: Farm
- Toca Life: Office
- PDF Expert by Readdle
- Amaziograph
- Notepad+ Pro
- Toca Life: Vacation
- Pixelmator
- GoodReader - PDF Reader Annotator and File Manager
- Affinity Photo
- Toca Life: City
Top Free iPad Games:
- Super Mario Run
- ROBLOX
- Rolling Sky
- Word Cookies!
- Bowmasters - Multiplayer Game
- Subway Surfers
- Paper.io
- slither.io
- Piano Tiles 2™(Don't Tap The White Tile 2)
- 8 Ball Pool™
- Block! Hexa Puzzle
- Clash Royale
- Roll the Ball® - slide puzzle
- Color Switch
- Minecraft: Story Mode
- Cooking Fever
- Hill Climb Racing 2
- Minion Rush
- Episode!
- Snake VS Block
Top Paid iPad Games:
- Minecraft
- Geometry Dash
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location
- Bloons TD 5 HD
- The Escapists
- Terraria
- Five Nights at Freddy's
- Goat Simulator
- Monument Valley 2
- Heads Up!
- The Game of Life
- Scribblenauts Unlimited
- Five Nights at Freddy's 2
- Goat Simulator PAYDAY
- Octodad: Dadliest Catch
- Goat Simulator Waste of Space
- Plague Inc.
- LEGO® Jurassic World™
- Assassin's Creed Identity
- SpongeBob Moves In
U.S. Music - Top Albums
- Drake More Life
- Kendrick Lamar DAMN.
- Taylor Swift reputation
- Ed Sheeran ÷
- The Weeknd Starboy
- J. Cole 4 Your Eyez Only
- Bruno Mars 24K Magic
- Migos Culture
- Future FUTURE
- Various Artists Moana
- Post Malone Stoney
- Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton Hamilton
- Various Artists Trolls (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Drake Views
- Big Sean I Decided.
- Travis Scott Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight
- JAY Z 4:44 am
- Future HNDRXX
- Khalid American Teen
- Chris Stapleton From A Room: Volume 1
U.S. Music Top Songs
- Ed Sheeran Shape of You
- Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Despacito (feat. Justin Bieber)
- Bruno Mars That's What I Like
- Kendrick Lamar HUMBLE.
- Sam Hunt Body Like a Back Road
- Migos Bad and Boujee (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)
- Bruno Mars 24K Magic
- DJ Khaled I'm the One (feat. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper & Lil Wayne)
- Post Malone Congratulations (feat. Quavo)
- Rae Sremmurd Black Beatles (feat. Gucci Mane)
- ZAYN & Taylor Swift I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)
- The Weeknd Starboy (feat. Daft Punk)
- Drake Fake Love
- James Arthur Say You Won't Let Go
- Imagine Dragons Believer
- Future Mask Off
- The Chainsmokers & Coldplay Something Just Like This
- Lil Uzi Vert XO TOUR Llif3
- KYLE iSpy (feat. Lil Yachty)
- The Chainsmokers Closer (feat. Halsey)
U.S. Movies
- Moana (2016)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Wonder Woman (2017)
- Sing
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Trolls
- Doctor Strange (2016) B
- eauty and the Beast (2017)
- Arrival
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- Logan
- The Boss Baby
- The LEGO Batman Movie
- Hacksaw Ridge
- The Accountant (2016)
- John Wick: Chapter 2
- Hidden Figures
- Baby Driver
- Passengers (2016)
U.S. TV
- Game of Thrones
- The Walking Dead
- The Big Bang Theory
- Rick and Morty
- The Americans
- Suits
- PAW Patrol
- This Is Us
- Modern Family
- Grey's Anatomy
- Better Call Saul
- Sherlock
- Scandal
- RuPaul's Drag Race
- Big Little Lies
- Doctor Who
- Planet Earth II
- Homeland
- The Flash
- The Blacklist
U.S. Podcast - Most Downloaded
- Fresh Air
- The Joe Rogan Experience
- Stuff You Should Know
- The Dave Ramsey Show
- The Daily
- This American Life
- TED Radio Hour
- Planet Money
- Pod Save America
- TED Talks Daily
- Freakonomics Radio
- Up First
- My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
- Radiolab
- NPR Politics Podcast
- The Bill Simmons Podcast
- S-Town
- Up and Vanished
- Global News Podcast
- Stuff You Missed in History Class
U.S. iBooks Fiction
- Camino Island / John Grisham
- The Handmaid's Tale / Margaret Atwood
- Origin / Dan Brown
- Into the Water /Paula Hawkins
- The Fix / David Baldacci
- Big Little Lies / Liane Moriarty
- The Girl Before / J.P. Delaney
- A Gentleman in Moscow / Amor Towles
- The Shack / William P. Young
- Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
- A Game of Thrones / George R.R. Martin
- It / Stephen King
- Thirteen Reasons Why / Jay Asher
- The Late Show / Michael Connelly
- Milk and Honey / Rupi Kaur
- The Rooster Bar / John Grisham
- The Midnight Line / Lee Child
- The Whistler / John Grisham
- House of Spies / Daniel Silva
- Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
U.S. iBooks Non-Fiction
- Hillbilly Elegy / J.D. Vance
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck / Mark Manson
- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry / Neil de Grasse Tyson
- The 5 Love Languages / Gary D. Chapman
- When Breath Becomes Air / Paul Kalanithi & Abraham Verghese
- The Glass Castle / Jeannette Walls
- What Happened / Hillary Clinton
- Option B / Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant
- Killing the Rising Sun / Martin Dugard, Bill O'Reilly
- You Are a Badass / Jen Sincero
- Shattered / Jonathan Allen, Amie Parnes
- Al Franken, Giant of the Senate / Al Franken
- The Operator / Robert O'Neill
- Rich Dad Poor Dad / Robert T. Kiyosaki
- Killers of the Flower Moon / David Grann
- Born a Crime / Trevor Noah
- Alexander Hamilton / Ron Chernow
- The Magnolia Story / Chip Gaines & Joanna Gaines
- Hidden Figures / Margot Lee Shetterly
- Killing England / Martin Dugard, Bill O'Reilly
U.S. Audiobooks
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck / Mark Manson
- The Four Agreements (Unabridged) / Don Miguel Ruiz
- The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (Unabridged) / Stephen King
- The Witness / Nora Roberts
- How to Win Friends & Influence People (Unabridged) / Dale Carnegie
- Hillbilly Elegy (Unabridged) / J. D. Vance
- The Shack (Unabridged) / Wm. Paul Young
- Extreme Ownership (Unabridged) / Jocko Willink, Leif Babin
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1 (Unabridged) / J.K. Rowling
- Rich Dad Poor Dad / Robert T. Kiyosaki
- The Handmaid's Tale (Unabridged) / Margaret Atwood
- The Art of War (Unabridged) / Sun Tzu
- You Are a Badass (Unabridged) / Jen Sincero
- The Alchemist (Unabridged) / Paulo Coelho
- The Secret (Unabridged) / Rhonda Byrne
- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (Unabridged) / Neil de Grasse Tyson
- The Five Love Languages (Unabridged) / Gary Chapman
- The Total Money Makeover / Dave Ramsey
- The Power of Now (Unabridged) / Eckhart Tolle
- It (Unabridged) / Stephen King